She's Not Your Style!
by xx Mizz.Masquerade xx
Summary: Until now, Haru's only loved swimming and the touch of the water against him. So when he suddenly has a girlfriend, despite his jealously, is Makoto right to have concerns? His girlfriend seems to be hiding something but will Haruka even listen to him and the others?
1. 01 - Unusual

_**AN **My first Free! fanfic, whoo! I actually wasn't expecting it to turn out this long, I thought my first attempt would result in a drabble or something so this is pretty awesome. I'm satisfied with it and I hope it's good enough. Hm, not much to say here except when you see the line/break it's to separate the scenes by the different times of the day or next that they happen. I guess you'd already know this but I thought I should explain just in case. I usually leave a big gap to represent the time differences but it doesn't work on here, I guess. Anyway, please enjoy!~_

* * *

Today doesn't start the way it usually does for Makoto. Usually, he goes over to Haru's house and waits for him and regardless of Haru's questioning about his desire to come over and wait for him they end up walking to school together. But unlike usually, the new experience of taking the journey alone has already been decided for Makoto.

It wasn't short notice on the bright side. Haru had sent him a text in the middle of the night telling him not to bother waiting for him in the morning because he would be leave for school early to meet with someone. The answer was short and vague-like Haru naturally, but it had sufficed for Makoto who had barely been awake enough to text back a reply, his gentle fist rubbing at his soft, half-lidded eyes. Who exactly was this someone that apparently mattered more than Makoto? If anything, Makoto was curious not jealous, but he respects the value of privacy so he didn't pry.

And besides it was only 3:24am.

"Man, Haru!~" Makoto had moaned that night after realising the time as he turned over to get more comfortable to go back to sleep. He wasn't annoyed but now all of a sudden his morning wouldn't be the same and regardless of the early notice he would still have to somehow keep a part of his brain awake throughout the night to remember not to go over to Haru's in the morning.

It puts his plans to talk to Haru about what he did over the weekend on delay but no matter, he could catch up with him in class.

Fast forward to the present and Makoto's walking to school alone, taking the same path he always does that takes him across this big, fresh-looking hill that overlooks the harbour that has a lake that spreads out in to the ocean. It's beautiful to look at in the morning just as the sun's still making its way up in to the atmosphere and greeting everyone. In fact, since he's not focused on talking to Haru (who for the record usually doesn't talk at all unless he's spoken to first, or when Makoto doesn't speak and he thinks something's wrong) this time around he can enjoy the beautiful scenery properly and not take it for granted as he often but unintentionally does. However, there would have to be a downside to walking alone, at least for Makoto who definitely prefers to always be in the company of others.

It's the thoughts and endless questions that come to him, the ones that don't make any kind of sense because they just spur and attack him from random sources, picking the most simplest of subjects but making it difficult to actually understand it. This goes on and has Makoto dwelling on matters he usually wouldn't give a second thought about until he finally arrives at school, feeling a little exhausted like he did when he got Haru's text.

_'Who even cares if an Orange is named after the colour or if the colour is named after the fruit?!_' Makoto can't believe he spent the last remaining minutes of his journey on such an absurd question. He was a bit dizzy now, as it was the ninth time he had asked himself and then scolded himself for being pulled in to that trap again! Needless to say, his optimism along the walk proved to be pointless in the end. Walking to school alone, or anywhere now for that matter, wouldn't be a healthy lifestyle change for him like he had tried to convince himself.

"Mako-chan, g'morning!" Nagisa greets him in his familiar cheeriness, unknowingly doing the exhausted team-mate a favour and stopping the questions from hounding him further as he joins him at the shoe lockers.

"Morning, Makoto-senpai." Rei also greets from beside Nagisa.

"Hey Nagisa, Rei, good morning." Makoto happily greets back as he reaches them, and with that smile he had been without for the last half of his journey. He's relieved to be in the company of his friends again. "Say, is Haru here yet?" He asks as he opens his locker and starts to swap his school shoes for the ones he wore on the way.

"Haru-chan? He's not with you?" Nagisa raises an eyebrow in confusion because as far as he knows, the captain and vice-captain of their swim club have always walked to school together.

"No," Makoto shakes his head. "He left early this morning to meet with someone."

"Who?"

"I'm not really sure, he didn't say."

Rei starts to rub his chin and tries to come up with a suitable explanation. "If Haruka-senpai left early then he should already be here but Nagisa-kun and myself haven't seen him yet...oh-" He pauses as a daunting possibility hits him. "You don't think that...maybe something bad happened to him on his way here?!"

"L-Like what?!" Nagisa asks, panicked.

"Car accident, kidnapping, got in to a fight with a bunch of delinquents-"

"Rei-chan, stop it! Don't scare me like that! How can you even think about stuff like that?! Oh no, Haru-chan!"

A part of Makoto was worried now. He was barely given enough details to explain Haru's absence other than he was meeting up with someone but just who was that someone? Not knowing the identity of the person makes it easy to suspect them of being any sort of person, from harmless to dangerous. But he didn't want to jump to any conclusions yet, and have a heart attack. "I'm sure he's fine." He says, closing his locker and giving them a smile he knows they can trust. "And besides Rei, Haru's not the type to get involved in a fight. He's a nice guy and he doesn't really hang out with anyone other than the three of us so I can't think of anyone who'd want to hurt him."

"Yeah but our names makes us easy targets..." Rei dreadfully reminds them. There were times when before he came to Iwatobi his classmates would pick on him for his glasses and taste in clothing but the worst and constant mockery was targeted at his name.

"Still, I know that haru wouldn't raise a hand to anyone." In all the years that Makoto has known Haru, he's never witnessed him do more than roll his eyes or huff in annoyance at whoever and whatever has annoyed or wanted to hurt him. It wouldn't be like him to just suddenly act out ad grab someone by their collar, stare them down hard, raise a fist and threaten to break their faces or something. Haru's like a dolphin in the water and even on land he'll still have the characteristics of that mammal; gentle and loveable and totally free of all negativity.

"You're looking for Haruka-senpai? I just saw him, actually." Their heads turn and behind them they see their red-haired manager stand there with her bag and looking at them casually, like they weren't all thinking about calling the cops and reporting a missing person because let's face it, Haru would enter a stranger's van if it meant he was going to be taken to a pool-or rather, that's what he would be told.

"Gou-chan!" Nagisa exclaims, happily. "So you saw Haru-chan? When and where?"

"It's _Kou_, and just now out by the bike shed."

"Eh? No way! I just walked passed there..." Makoto says, his shoulders sagging a little around his confused face.

"What's Haruka-senpai doing all the way over there?" Rei asks her.

Gou shrugs. "Not sure but he's talking to a girl so I didn't bother him-"

"A GIRL?!" Makoto, Nagisa and Rei scream to her in disbelief, mouths open and their eyes taking on the shape of twin moons as they express their obvious bewilderment.

They had to see this.

Gou stands there alone feeling out of the loop as if she's missed something after the three of them dash passed her and practically leap through the entrance and head towards the bike rack at the side of the school. Their heads poke out from behind the corner wall so that they can keep their presence a secret and still see what they need to.

The back of Haru is the first thing they see before they notice another body in front of him at a height just a few inches shorter. Although the person's face is blocked by Haru's ideal figure, they can tell it's a girl by the female uniform from the way her skirt rests not too high above her knees and the way her long, dark socks smooth down her slim legs. And between the three of them, they can make out parts of her dark, fluffy hair that curls at the ends as the strands rest on top of her shoulders, and the cute bunny clip on the left of her fringe.

Strange isn't the word for this. It's un-doubtfully far from the norm but while the three of them don't know how to react, all sorts of feelings and questions get pushed together and they can't even form clear guesses about what's going on. The main mystery though is since when did Haru even know any girls to talk to?! He's been known to attract attention from girls from different classes and even from a teacher or two but he's never held a conversation with any of them that lasted longer than four words, maybe even a sentence and a half!

So why? Exactly who is she?...

Nagisa chuckles and admits what he knows they're all thinking. "Never thought I'd see this, Haru-chan with a girl."

"I agree, it's unusual." Rei says as he slides up his falling glasses, wanting a consistent clear vision. "This explains why Makoto-senpai didn't notice Haruka-senpai before."

"Haru..." Makoto mutters softly as he watches. He hopes that it's the result of paranoia but he has a hunch that this girl, whoever she is, is the reason he had been ditched this morning the moment he woke up and read that text. He still wasn't annoyed and the way he felt about it now wasn't the case, he just wants to know why Haru couldn't have told him that he wanted to meet up with a girl. Why was he so vague about it?

They continue to watch and within the next minute or two Haru's saying something while keeping his usual straight-faced expression and somehow making the girl laugh, enough for her to cover her mouth with one hand and gently smack his arm with the other as if praising him for a good joke. But Haru never jokes so the three of them figure she's just easily flustered.

Apparent mind-reader Nagisa speaks on their behalf again. "Like when Rei-chan first saw Haru-chan's dive!"

"O-Oi, Nagisa-kun!" Rei cries, flushing at the memory.

"Guys, quiet or they'll hear us." Makoto lightly warns with a brief worried glance in their direction.

What happens next is the cherry on the cake. Haru says something to her again and this time she just smiles and comes in close to slip her arms around his waist in comfort. Now more questions are being raised. Haru's never been a fan of physical contact before. Usually he'll just sigh in annoyance and let whoever's touching him be humoured but looking at him now he actually seems to not mind as much.

Something is different this time.

And that something shows itself to the three of them when Haru leans his head down and presses his lips against her cheek.

"EEEHHH?!" Makoto, Nagisa and Rei gasp in horror, their eyes becoming enormous and their mouths open like gaping fish as the shock of the scene they never would've guessed they'd witness hits them like a kick in the stomach.

_'What just happened?!'_ Makoto can't believe-no, he doesn't even understand what he's supposed to have a problem with believing!

"Quick, Haru-chan's coming!" Nagisa quickly warns, watching as the vice-captain walks towards him. The blond starts hopping around and looking in different directions for a place to hide, feeling like he's spending his last few moments of freedom being panicked.

Haru's not a track runner but if his speed in the water is anything to go by then they don't want to risk attempting to run and make it back inside the school before he makes it round the corner they took sanctuary at. And there's no time for them to come up with an excuse-let alone a decent one-to explain what they were even doing spying on him. Sure, it makes sense to them, but it won't to Haru who never sees anything as a big deal.

_'That's probably why he didn't tell me about her, thought it wasn't a big deal...'_ Makoto guesses. That's because it's not, right? Why should his best friend meeting up with a girl even matter?

_'What? But he woke me up at 4am so it must've been important!"_

_'It was only twenty past three, Makoto!'_

_'Same difference, Makoto!'_

_'Quit arguing with yourself and hide, now!'_

Makoto curses and as a last resort he quickly orders Nagisa and Rei to follow his lead and act as nonchalant as they possibly can. They don't have time to discuss what that means exactly so they do what they can and throw themselves in to different positions.

Haru walks out from around the corner just in time. Noticing them, or more like their 'poses', he feels the need to express. "Makoto, Nagisa, Rei...what are you doing standing here like that?"

Nagisa had taken to a crouched pose with his knees sticking out and his arms crossed over the front of his chest in the shape of an X, like he was rejecting something horrifying. Rei meanwhile has his head turned one way but his arms and legs turned the other in another one of his weird stretch poses that make everyone question the state of his mind, it's like he's been possessed. And as for Makoto, he stupidly chose a simple but strange pose and was facing the wall with his back and whole figure straight, as if he were in the army and addressing his commanding officer-the wall.

"Err..." Nagisa decides to try, a nervous smile breaking through the expression of horror. "Haru-chan, g'morning! We're just...well, we're doing...a...shadow dance!"

"Shadow dance?"

"Y-Yeah! It's like a...s-self-reflective dance and it brings you good luck!"

"Nagisa-kun is c-correct." Rei struggles to agree, helping-or so he thinks-to authenticate the excuse. "I-I've heard about it before and read the theory online! It consists of 10% body movement, 20% accuracy and 70% belief in your dreams! Or rather, your determination to succeed in your hardships.

"...Uh huh." Haru mutters, not really getting but not exactly caring enough to want to. He looks over at Makoto and with his eyes asks for a better explanation from the sensible one of their group.

But Makoto has nothing. "So Haru," He instead chooses to bring up the main topic as he forcefully laughs off the awkward moment and turns around to face him. "I got your message last night about you leaving early to meet up with someone but you never told me who that someone was. And when I got here we were all worried because you hadn't arrived yet."

"I thought you had gotten in to a fight or an accident." Rei says.

"I'm fine." Haru tells him, and then without another word he starts walking towards the school entrance.

Makoto, Nagisa and Rei share confused looks.

"Haru-chan," Nagisa calls as he and the others follow after him. "Who was it you met up with?"

"Does it really matter?" Haru asks, sighing.

"I'm curious to know as well, senpai." Rei admits.

"Come on, Haru," Makoto assist them. "You've kept me in the dark about this person since 4am-"

"I texted you at twenty past three."

"Same difference!" Makoto had spoken louder than intended thanks to the memory of the argument he had with himself over the same issue. Quickly glancing away to hide his small blush of embarrassment and excuse his snappiness, he turns back and says, "Uh, so can you just tell us who it was you met up with?"

_'And ditched me for'. _He mentally adds.

"Just someone I promised I'd walk to school with today." Haru says, sighing again as they step in to the school again. He goes over to the lockers and doesn't need to turn around to know that they're watching him switch his shoes, waiting for him to give them a name or at least a better explanation.

"Haru-chan, enough of the secrecy!" Nagisa whines, restlessly. "You have to tell us and now!"

"Fine." Haru closes his locker shut.

The three of them hold their breath and wait, standing so still that they could pass for corpses about to be identified. But the shock that passes through the witnesses of those cold figures and feels like it'll never end is entirely different yet similar to the way Makoto, Nagisa and Rei can hear it in run through their pulses and echo as it taps against their ear drums and waits for the truth to fill the soundless spaces.

"It was my girlfriend."

* * *

_**AN** And that's all, for now at least. I was going to include more but since this is gonna be at least three chapters long I'm saving it for the next part. Ending it here is fine and this is where the opening theme would start too. Well, I'll se__e you in the next chapter(s)!~_


	2. 02 - Hopeful

_**AN **This will sound lazy and bad but I honestly don't have a clear image in my head of what Haru's girlfriend looks like. I mean I have a small idea and I gave a brief description in the previous chapter and I guess it can work except she turned out cuter than I first expected. Maybe the bunny clip can stay though. Other than that, I don't have any key aspects to mention. I don't think it matters so much because this story isn't going to be more than three chapters long. Sorry this seems like I'm writing half-assed, that's really not it. I'm just not used to using OC's in fics._

_But still, enjoy!~_

* * *

Makoto isn't the type to dwell on trivial matters. Once they're out in the open, discussed and hopefully resolved then that's it and there's nothing more to it. And he's a pretty easy going guy so he never really has a reason to object strongly or otherwise to anything (unless you count all the times Nagisa and his impulsiveness try to drag the swim team in to something crazy).

But in this case however the matter isn't as trivial as he thought it would be. And now that it's out in the open he doesn't know where to start the discussion-if having one is even an option without him feeling stupid, like he's only bringing it up just to sound jealous in the end and feel stupid. It's not exactly his fault that he can't get over Haru having a girlfriend though-it's _Haru_! And truthfully, thinking about it is only Makoto more restless but he can't stop when there's a lot he doesn't know. And he's entitled to know, right?

"I can't believe you have a girlfriend." With his desk located right next to Haru's, Makoto has easy access to it and only has to pull his chair over and turn it around to face Haru, allowing them to converse conveniently.

"Why?" Haru inquires, not looking up from the pencil sketch he just started. "Is there something wrong with me?

"N-n-no! It's just sudden, that's all. I mean, it wasn't that long ago when you were saying that you only swim freestyle and that your love experience was with a waterfall. But now that's changed and you've met someone you like enough to call your girlfriend. I'm happy for you really but I still have to get used to it, haha."

For a while since their friendship had blossomed in to a strong bond, Makoto hasn't been worried about someone else taking his best friend's attention away from him. Sure, Rin's an easy candidate with how he's always challenging Haru to a race and only notices him whenever he, Nagisa and Rei are also present (but only acknowledges them as 'you guys' or 'losers that Haru still hands with'). But Rin has made it clear that getting closer to Haru would only probably make him lose his shit since he isn't exactly the easiest person to get to know. Haru is pretty closed, but the most obvious trait about him is his passion for the water. Makoto learned that instantly but as for the rest that came over time, and now he can read Haru's mind with no trouble.

Makoto has always loved being the person who knows Haru the best and the way Haru will always look at him to translate what he can't be bothered to say himself. As long as his point gets across then it doesn't really matter who says it. But now looking at the way their relationship works, Makoto has to wonder if the edition of a girlfriend means that he'll have to hand over his special position to her so that she'll be the person who knows Haru the best and can read his mind.

"I still only swim freestyle." Haru finally speaks again.

"Is that all you're taking from this?!"

"HARU-CHAN!" Nagisa's waving at them from their classroom door, like he often does and with Rei standing next to him looking around awkwardly for the teacher who he was expecting to be scolded by and have to apologise to. He gasps when his hand is grabbed again and Nagisa drags him along from behind as he hurries over to Haru's desk. The anxious blond slams his palms down on the table and leans in to the uninterested expression. "Tell me, tell me! What's she like?!"

"Who?" Haru blinks.

"Your girlfriend, obviously." Makoto says, chuckling at his obliviousness and grinning sheepishly when he receives what's meant to be a glare to shut him up but is instead a cute look on the borderline of embarrassment.

Rei joins Nagisa's curiosity and adds, "I'd like to know as well, Haruka-senpai."

"Yeah! So what's she like?" Nagisa asks again, bouncing eagerly. "Is she cute?! Is she funny and smart?! Which class is she in?! Is she in your year or ours?! What kind of food does she like?! When did you two meet?! How long have you been dating?! Are we going to meet her soon?!"

"Yeah, I guess." Haru shrugs.

"Which question is that answer responding to?..." Rei questions.

"I met her last week on a picnic with my parents when they came to visit me." Haru explains, knowing that he and his drawing will never get the peace and quiet he wants until he tells them. "We went to the place where I saw that waterfall and when I went to see it she was there. She already knew who I was from the rumours she'd heard and that's when we realised that we both go to Iwatobi. We started talking and then she asked me out and I said whatever."

"_Whateve_r?...Wait, so you didn't actually say yes?!" Makoto asks.

"Haru-chan," Nagisa calls in a scolding tone. "You can't treat such a life changing question like that! Wah~didn't you say anything else?"

"I told her that as long as I can still swim when I want to then I don't have a problem with it."

"Then Senpai, is she a swimmer too?" Rei asks.

"Apparently."

"Apparently?!..." Makoto again, and his eye began twitching in disbelief.

"Well she told me that she loves the water almost as much as I do," Haru pauses to let out a good, long yawn-which the others watch questionably, wondering how even he can treat such a matter so calmly and barely be interested even though it involves him by a great deal-before he leans against a closed hand and carries on sketching with the other as he speaks again, "But we haven't swam together yet so I don't know anything about her form or style yet."

"Doesn't matter anyway because I bet Haru-chan's girlfriend is an amazing swimmer!" Nagisa cheers.

"I wonder which style she uses to swim." Makoto says and starts to think about it for himself. There are only so many types and and probably very few of them look good next to a style that matches a Dolphin. Then again, this isn't a solid fact so it could just be Makoto trying to pry open random areas in the hopes of finding a good reason that can explain the part of him that isn't on board with Haru dating this girl. "Girls are delicate so maybe she uses the butterfly stroke?"

"Just what are you saying?!" Rei questions in fluster at how his used style is being spoken about, as if he too is feminine! "The butterfly stroke isn't like the rest! It has it's own individual theory that you have to understand and apply to-"

"Alright, I'm sorry, relax, Rei!"

"Haru-chan, you still haven't told us!" Nagisa says, his eagerness still high (to Haru's disappointment). "When are we going to meet her, huh?! Oh-wait, what's her name?"

"Kouta Fukashimi." Haru replies.

"Eh? Kouta? Isn't that a guy's name?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, that's a scary coincidence." Makoto laughs. "A guy with a girly name is dating a girl with a boyish name."

"It's almost like fate." Rei says. "Haruka-senpai, do you feel as though a beautiful destiny that's been written out for you is finally coming showing itself? I hope you can properly cherish your time with your special someone because love is a beautiful thing. I've read an article about it before during my english study period for an essay and the way I see it, love is 58% feeling and 42% attraction!"

"Uh huh, could be." Haru mutters, though not paying any real interest in what he hadn't even been listening to.

"Please answer properly, Haru!" Makoto cries.

"Haru-chan, let us meet her properly, okay?!" Nagisa asks, hopefully.

"Whatever."

"Wah, stop saying that! I told you, you can't treat this sort of thing freely like that!"

"But free is my only style."

"But you're not swimming right now, Haru-chan!"

* * *

"EH? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Gou had sensed from earlier that something strange was going on with the members of the swim club when they all rushed outside like it was snowing after she had told them where Haru's was and that he was with a girl, a girl who she never would've guessed was more than someone just asking for the time or something. "REALLY?! HARUKA-SENPAI HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!"

Her heart was shattering at the thought of having to kiss those beautiful muscles goodbye. She wouldn't ogle at taken men!

Not for long, at least...

"Yep." Nagisa nods at her from in the pool with his head sticking out and resting on his arms and with his legs gently kicking about behind. "Haru-chan surprised the rest of us as well when he told us."

"But when did this happen? Since when does he even know any girls?! I never see him socialise with anyone other than us!"

Rei speaks this time, while doing his weird stretches. "Senpai told us that he met her last week on a picnic with his parents."

"What?! But he-I mean Haruka-senpai-ahhh," Gou groans and holds her head. "This is really too sudden!"

Haru comes out of the pool next. "What's too sudden?" he asks just as he walks over to her.

"You have a girlfriend!" Gou shouts, pointing at him like he's committed a crime. Well he might as well have, this isn't the kind of news you can just try to hide and then treat like a casual conversation when it gets found out!

"Oh..." Haru mutters. "Right, that."

"DON'T JUST TALK ABOUT THE SITUATION LIKE THAT!" Nagisa and Gou yell.

"There's nothing much to say though." Haru takes off his goggles and shaking his head to let his hair fly wildly, cool-like as if he were the star of a shampoo commercial. "It was bound to happen some time, right?"

"Err, well..." Truthfully speaking, the four of them weren't certain. But they were all satisfied with believing that Haruka would always be himself and thus graduate from high school and live his adult life by himself just because they could never imagine his perfect match. All he knows, loves and cares about-besides mackerel-is water!

They don't get to dig around in their minds for an answer or excuse for long. By the time Makoto wants to take back his stutter and explain himself to Haru there's a girl running out from nowhere and throwing herself-literally, like Nagisa-style but different-at him in what looks like a tight hug. The bunny clip makes its memorable appearance again too as the sun hits its metallic body and glimmers and that's how Makoto, Rei and Nagisa realise what's going on.

"EEEHHH?!" Gou gasps. She hasn't realised who she's looking at yet because when she saw the girl it was in passing and didn't take much notice of her. No, what she's flabbergasted over is how easily this strange girl can hug Haruka and his muscular form which Gou has been tortured by for too long! She has dreamed of running her hands down those abs and squeezing those muscles. Damn it, she's jealous!

"Isn't she...?!" Rei says.

"Haha, it's that girl from before! Haru's girlfriend!" Nagisa says, excited because this is their chance to finally meet her.

"Haruka's girlfriend..." Makoto softly mumbles. He wasn't expecting to see her again so soon and to see her so close with Haru. It's sweet, even with his best friend's face still unchanged by the physical form of affection. But there's this dull ache feeling rooting from Makoto's stomach and shooting up to the back of his throat where the word 'girlfriend' feels weird to say. He's not sure what it is though, so he puts on a smile and decides to ignore it for now.

"Haru, I missed you!" The girl pouts at him as she finally ends the hug but keeps her hands on his arm. "You didn't tell me you'd be swimming for so long!"

"Oh, yeah." Haru says, looking at her.

"Wow!" Nagisa exclaims as he comes over, Rei & Makoto following behind. "So you really are Haru-chan's girlfriend?"

They already know the answer, but a hopeful part of Makoto brings him to look at Haru and wonder if this is all just a bad joke and he's just waiting for the right time to tell everyone so that they can all laugh about it later.

But Haruka hasn't been known to tell jokes.

Makoto swallows to try and rid the ache that seemed to be swelling up.

"Yep!~" She says, happily. "My name is Kouta Fukashimi."

And then it goes down, along with his hope.

* * *

_**AN** I think I rushed the ending but so long as Kouta appears, it's fine for now. As far as I know 'Kouta' is a male name, I even researched it and was told the same thing multiple times but I apologise though if this is somehow incorrect. And it looks like this story is going to go over the expected three chapters but only a bit. I'm used to posting long chapters on aff but it's different here so I'm shortening the chapters so you guys don't strain your eyes or anything, y'know and because I don't want to ram too much in one go and end up frustrating anyone._


	3. 03 - Unbelievable

**AN** _It took me so long to finish writing this chapter! T.T But to be fair, my internet's only recently come back on after nearly two months! And I had trouble with this chapter at first because I couldn't get certain parts to seem right. But it's finally here now, ta-dah~_

_By the way, has anyone listened to the recent Free! drama CD? (At least I think it's recent...?). I really enjoyed it, especially rinharu's :') so much that I had to blog about it on tumblr (sugarby - 21 . tumblr . com) but I sounded like I ship rinharu but I don't! Or I didn't, until now, maybe. I'm not sure but it's fine because makoharu will always be my no.1 otp (at least in free!)._

* * *

Once before, Makoto and the rest of the swim team members had a discussion about their future. They wondered about where they would end up, who they would become and the kind of person they would want to spend the rest of their life with.

It was harmless at first and everyone's attitudes towards the topic wasn't different from how they normally spoke about trivial matters, so whatever they said wasn't going to be taken seriously. Or so Makoto had lead himself to believe. He answered vaguely when he was ambushed in to choosing between his long-term, close friend and his other good friend. Since placing them on different levels like that was so easy for him, anyone would've thought the same when it came to making a decision. But Makoto was far too kind and considerate of other people to pick when it meant leaving the other out. And as nice of a quality that is to have, his dismissal of choosing resulted in him being flustered as an irritated Haruka (who at this point felt like he had to help his friend see sense and told him that the truth is clear like water and that he needed to embrace it or he would sink) and a disappointed Nagisa detested his unclear answer and ganged up together on him to demand that he quit being wishy-washy.

"Yes, Makoto-senpai. For your sake most of all, please give us a proper answer." Rei had asked of him.

"But I can't pick between Haru-chan and Nagisa!" Makoto argued, all whiny and exhausted.

No one cared though.

Haruka, arms crossed impatiently, told him "You can so you will. And drop the 'chan' already!

"Haru, you're too strict!"

_'And you're too wishy-washy' _the other three could've easily retaliated with, but mutually decided against wasting their breath.

"It's alright, Haru-chan!" Nagisa was done with Makoto and decided to intervene with an improvisation. He grabbed hold of Haruka possessively and pushed the raven-haired head in to his chest, letting him be comforted. "We'll be together instead! And don't worry, we'll have lots of fun memories to look back on when we're old! And I'll cook mackerel for you everyday!"

Haruka was caught the moment his ear twitched at the word mackerel and as he pictured the vision that had just been layed out for him, his eyes began to sparkle. "Then I'm counting on you to make me happy, Nagisa. Don't ever let me go."

"Never! Let's be together for forever and beyond! HARU-CHAN I LOVE YOU!"

"You guys can't be serious!" Makoto had cried, feeling defeated as the tables turned and he was the one left out, being cast aside so easily.

It hadn't taken too long after this discussion of theirs for Makoto to realise that unlike his original thought, not all outcomes depended on answers that came beforehand. They could take an unexpected turn which could be far wore than what was attempted to be avoided. And now Makoto had to wonder...if he had spoken up back then, swallowed his morals and said 'Haru' or 'Nagisa', would today be different? Would he and Haru be closer? Makoto has always wanted them to stick by each other and remain close. He wanted nothing to bend or damage the shape of their interesting and special bond that had been growing for over ten years since they met. It would be too irreplaceable.

And that's exactly why. Makoto hasn't been able to think of Haruka belonging to someone else-not that someone with a free nature like him can be monopolised-because for the longest time he's only loved the water. And most of all, for the longest time Makoto has always believed that they would only need each other, that it would be just the two of them and no one else.

Nagisa's the first to react to her sudden appearance, and with excitement. "Amazing! I've never seen Haru with a girl before and she's so cute!"

"Indeed." Rei nods. "And the bounciness of her hair is a beautiful attribute that matches well with her smile. I've read before that distinguishable accessories are considered as an aspect of one's personality which overall can make an important difference in how a person is perceived. And that in turn makes a big impact! Haruka-senpai has sure lucked out!"

_Ugh_. If Makoto wasn't holding back, he would sound like an aggravated, troubled young teen-the kind whose mother says they can't stay out passed curfew or date someone they don't trust just because they have one too many piercings in uncommon places and their names are what you would give your dog, like Butch or Chip.

It's his turn to say something about his close friend's new girlfriend now.

_Go on_, he can feel Nagisa and Rei practically prompting him together with the use of unexplained telepathy. But Makoto can't. But maybe he can play off the refusal he isn't willing to explain as not getting the message because their wavelengths that it needs to be sent across on aren't in sync (Or maybe he's a tad over-optimistic and hoping for too much). It doesn't seem like there's a way out of this situation, not without being tagged as the bad guy. Makoto does his best, running over paragraphs and going over lines and flicking through many excuses as if his head were a catalogue full of them to ready himself so that he can avoid being too direct and saying something harsh he'll regret. Nothing useful comes up though but he can't be act ecstatic and supportive like Nagisa and Rei.

"Kouta, want me to walk you to your class?" Haru offers the girl clinging on to his arm and happily snuggling up to him.

"Okay!" Kouta smiles. "Thanks, Haru." She gives him another hug by strengthening her hold and stays like that for a lasting moment before she lets go of her boyfriend and watches him leave the poolside and enter the locker room building.

With one of them no longer present, that leaves the three other members of the swim team alone. With _her_. Makoto's still counting down the seconds and milli-seconds in-between to doomsday because he's not as confident about keeping composed as he needs to be.

"Kouta-chan, hi! I'm Nagisa! Feel free to call me Nagisa-chan!" Nagisa springs over to her immediately. It's obvious how much he's glad they have her to themselves for the time being. This means they-mainly him-can pry her for interesting secrets about their relationship and etcetera.

"Hello, I'm Ryugazaki Rei." Rei approaches her next, bowing. "It's nice to meet you, Kouta-chan-san."

How do you both do?" Kouta said as she bowed to both of them. "I'm Kouta Fukashimi, as I'm sure you already know."

'_Cocky bitch_'. Wait, had Makoto really just said that? It was said to himself in his head, but still! He doesn't like whoever he's beginning to become. And as his bad luck would have it, it's his turn again from the way they're all staring at him and waiting for him to contribute and introduce himself. He can't pass this time, unfortunately for him. "Um..." He can see how she's studying him, probably in wonder about his condition-Whether or not he's okay to socialise since he's being doing a bad job so far. But he smiles at her to prove otherwise. "I'm Makoto, Makoto Tachibana."

"But everyone calls him Mako-chan!" Nagisa adds.

"Actually, Nagisa-kun," Rei steps in, pushing up his falling glasses. "I'm positive you're the only one who calls Makoto-senpai like that."

"Eh? But it's such a cute nickname! Everyone should use it!"

"But 'chan' is for young females!"

"Are you saying that Mako-chan isn't young?!"

_'Then Nagisa, are you saying that I'm a girl?'_ Makoto thinks, dreading the sort of vision of his alternate self that was being input in to his head.

"Don't be ridiculous! I'm saying that there's no logic behind calling your senpai with a term that's used for the opposite gender!"

"Aheheheh," Nagisa chuckles as he scratches his head lightly, feigning innocence as cutely as possible as an excusable appeal. "Ah well, Mako-chan doesn't really mind. Or Haru-chan for that matter!"

"Uh, well I don't mind it but Haru..." Makoto drags on, recalling all the times he's called Haruka as 'Haru-chan' and then been told to drop the add on term with a stern glare. He's never truly furious with him, only a little irritated. And he does sometimes let Makoto get away ith.

Haruka really only allows the members of the swim team to call him 'Haru-chan' and even it still frustrates him that they don't respect his pleas for them to just call him Haru. Or even Haruka, as girlier in general as it makes him sound. Now what about his girlfriend, Kouta? Has she called him Haru-chan? Is she allowed to? Or does she have a more distinguished, intimate nickname for him? Thinking about it is making that lump of fallen doubt swell again in Makoto's throat and suddenly he's afraid to breathe and get one syllable more about Haruka out.

"So Kouta-chan," Nagisa starts. "How long have you and Haru been dating?"

Kouta shrugs. "I don't know. Four days?"

"Eh? But Haru-chan told us that it was about a week ago when you met."

"O-Oh, right!" Kouta made an expression like a pen that can shoot out light beams and restore parts of a missing memory had been aimed and fired at her, and they were seeing the results. "Sorry...Haha, it's just...I keep forgetting because it feels like just yesterday I met the guy of my dreams so it still feels new and unreal to me. I have to keep reminding myself that everything's fine though just so I don't end up pinching my arm and leaving bruises."

Nagisa laughs. "Right, of course."

"Kouta-san, do you swim too?" Rei asks.

"Of course! I swim nearly every day."

"Great!" Nagisa cheers. "Hey, wanna have a quick swim with us now while you wait for Haru? We're dying to see how you swim! I bet you have a cute style!"

"Style?" Kouta repeats, puzzled. "Erm...but I just swim."

"You mean without a theory or technique? How?" Rei asks, even more puzzled.

"What do you mean how? I just dive in and start swimming. Is there something with that?!"

"Not at all. It's okay. I guess it's whatever works for you the best." Makoto says. Beside him, he hears Rei whisper a thank you in his ear and he responds with a shake of his head and a whisper of it not being a problem. He could tell that Kouta was starting to get a bit defensive and it wouldn't have been fair to leave Rei to handle things on his own. But why was she acting like that anyway? It's not like they were inquiring about personal facts like her weight or...cup size. "Rei here is our butterfly swimmer."

Rei looks at him, startled again. But the progress of the subject seems to have a positive affect and she smiles again when she looks at Rei. "Is that so? I bet you look great swimming, Ryugazaki-san."

Rei blushes at the compliment. "I-I'm not horrible, I suppose. But I still have a lot I need to read up on to develop and improve my abilities."

"Kouta-chan, will you be swimming with us soon then?" Nagisa asks, hassling her with a good but gentle shake when he puts his hands on her shoulders casually. "I really want to see it, your stroke!"

"Why would I do that? Then I'd be wasting the good money I spent on getting my hair done last weekend!"

"Your hair? But...don't you swim often?" Makoto questions, confused as to why and how someone who claims to swim frequently could manage their hair.

"Of c-course I do! I just...Obviously I want to look good in the water. Naturally, you know...for Haru!"

"Oh, I get it." Nagisa says.

"I don't." Rei hitches up his sliding glasses again and the glint in his eyes says that he's on to something and he's about to reveal it, like an agent ready to give evidence and close a priority case. "I know girls are often converned over their appearance, but if you swim as frequently as you say-and I'm assuming that you like the water just as Haruka-senpai does-then seeing as your hair will be wet most of the time, isn't going to the salon a waste? You can't possibly manage the treatment well."

"I beg your pardon?" Kouta scoffs, and says "I'll have you know that I swam today as a matter of fact! And if you look then you can see that my hair is perfectly fine! So yes I can manage the treatment well."

"But..."

"But what? What is it?!"

Rein stares at her for a bit and goes over his thought to make sure he has an issue worth bringing up further. Then he steps forward and leans down to her level and pushes his nose over the top of her head. "I don't smell any chlorine, Kouta-san."

"R-Rei?!" Makoto gasps, surprised by his bold and very odd actions.

"Rei-chan, don't!" Nagisa says, finding it to be weird and out of character.

"W-What the heck are you doing?!" Kouta cries in question, flustered and fast to take retreating steps with an arm held up in front of her in defense. "Do you go around sniffing girls' hair like it's a normal thing to do?! Huh?! You pervert!"

"That's not it at all!" Rei argues, nearly just as flustered. He's embarrassed for himself but felt that there was no other way to prove his point.

"Liar! You're a lying pervert!"

"Calm down." Makoto says as he puts a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "Rei isn't like that. You've got it all wrong-"

"Get off me!" Kouta demands and slaps his hand away. For all she knows, he could be a pervert just as much as Ryugazaki-san. And not to mention that the bubbly blond standing with them has been too touchy-feely with her right from the beginning.

_'She's over-reacting on a whole new scale'_, Makoto thinks, taken by surprise from how a seemingly ordinary and polite girl has suddenly turned hostile and physically rejected his comforting hand. He didn't mean any harm by it at all. He just wanted to help Rei in the messy situation he had been put in (even though he had sort of set himself up for that. But nonetheless, he didn't deserve to have her explode on him like that). Then again, Makoto has to wonder why she was even reacting like this. It's as if she became more desperate the more they spoke to her, like something she wanted to keep to herself was at risk of being exposed.

"Kouta? Makoto?...What's going on?" It's Haruka (with timing that's absolutely not the best in the slightest), fully dressed and looking confused as his focus of vision frequently switches from his best friend to his girlfriend. He spares Nagisa and Rei a look as well in case they can explain to him why in the ten or maybe less minutes he was absent, a confrontation of some kind is happening. You know, he had concerns about leaving his new girlfriend alone with his friends-Nagisa mainly. But the worst scenario he had pictured is that she would end up liking one of them.

"Haru..." Makoto says, eyes glimmering with worry. "I-It's..nothing."

Kouta doesn't think so and points at the other three swim team members. "They think I'm making it all when I say that I swim all the time! And they wanted to be right so badly that this pervert," She moves her finger to the right on Rei and it startles him as he flinches in panic. "Came over to me and sniffed my hair! He said that he couldn't smell any chlorine on me but the matter of fact is that he just has a weird fetish for smelling girls' hair!"

"Rei did?..." It's the craziest thing ever that Haru has heard. He looks to Rei still confused. "Rei, what's wrong with you?"

'What's wrong wit him?' The question repeats in Makoto's head. '...Haru!?' He can't believe what he's hearing. Is Haru seriously already convinced that their friend would do something so strange for no reason other than to satisfy a weird fetish? Hey, that's Rei's business if he's in to that sort of thing (though Makoto doubts it), but his intentions were innocent! But why isn't Haruka considering that? He usually would.

Either way, Makoto's not about to let an innocent Rei be wrongly criticized. "Haru, I told you, it wasn't like that at all! It's just a misunderstanding." He turns to Kouta. "We're sorry about this, we didn't mean to hassle you. And of course we understand that you want to take care of your appearance. You have every right to look and feel the way you want, when you want. Haha, I guess I wouldn't know though since it's always a job to have to dry my hair off later when I sometimes swim without my cap." He's trying extra hard to be on her good side and get her admiration. At least while Haruka's there, watching him and waiting to see what would happen next.

"...Oh, right." Kouta mumbles in reply, surprised by how friendly and welcoming he's suddenly become. But it doesn't matter and it changes nothing that's happened up to now. She links her arm with Haruka's and looks up at him with a pleading look. "Haru, I'll be late for my class if we don't leave now. So let's hurry!"

"Okay." Haru complies. He looks over at his team-mates, watches Rei for a moment longer than the rest, but before he can even say that he'll see them later, his girlfriend hurriedly pulls him along in the direction of the lockers to exit through and enter the main school building.

What's just happened? Why did things escalate from a to be at a horrifying speed? It's as if this whole situation with Haruka dating someone out of the blue is like a dream. Makoto's trying to convince himself to be considerate and give Kouta a chance and then suddenly he's defending Rei from Kouta's harsh accusations as well as convince Haruka that he isn't getting the full picture on things.

"She's hiding something." Rei says with suspicion as he watches Kouta and Haruka leave together. "I've seen enough dramas and series to know about the methods used to make up a lie. It involves stuttering-which she did. Evasive eye contact, bad excuses, weird conclusions that don't make any sense-her calling me a pervert-"

"Well, you were rather odd at the time." Makoto can't help but point out.

"BUT MY INTENTIONS WERE PURE!"

"I know, sorry. Haha..."

"Anyway," Rei says, moving on to get back to the issue. "She was also hostile and had an urge to leave the scene as quickly as possible-which she just did with Haruka-senpai."

"She said she was going to be late for her class."

"Maybe so, but still."

"Maa maa, Rei-chan, maybe you're reading too much in to it." Nagisa says.

"Are you saying that you don't believe me, Nagisa-kun?! Suddenly I'm in the wrong?! You think I'm lying as well? It couldn't possibly be Kouta-san even though we've only just met her?!"

"Rei, calm down." Makoto comforts him the same way he did with Kouta and two large hands rest on top of tensed shoulders. "Look, I'm not saying that I don't believe you but we shouldn't jump to any conclusions yet."

"B-Bu...But Makoto-senpai!" Rei exclaims in protest.

"We've only just met Kouta. Of course we'll have concerns but let's not make this in to a big thing. For Haru's sake, okay?"

Rei doesn't truly understand. He's not a mind reader (that would go against logic!). But he's good with theories and understanding them and how they work. So he's sure of it. Kouta Fukashimi is leaving something off the table, whether it's just to fool them or to fool Haruka. Rei hasn't known his team-mates for as long as he could wish but he's known them long enough to know that they're willing to do so much for each other, even if it might mean over-stepping a boundary (for example, the time Nagisa suggested he and Makoto and Haruka break in to Samezuka to swim).

Makoto knows Haru the best and is the closest to him. So that's why, at least for now until something else comes up, Rei can stand to be off guard and trust his judgement to leave things as they are for now (besides, he shouldn't really be looking for ways to push the person who was insistent on him having a weird fetish deriving from his persona as a pervert more! Who knows how her hostility will decide to attack him next?! Rei's read a book or two on women-a complicated and confusing species-and to this day still can't understand their code words and hinting tones and way of behaving around certain people. Being true to yourself means being beautiful after all.)

But even as sure as Makoto makes himself out to be in front of them, and as close as he is with Haruka to know him better than the back of his own hand and read his mind, lately...

He's afraid all that could change in an instant.

* * *

They don't see Haruka again at school for the rest of the day.

Although, Makoto does. Only briefly, for the second it takes their teacher to call out Haruka's name and get a response, before he takes off to meet up with Kouta and walk her to her next class as he promised. It irked Makoto. It's too soon for him to be seeing less of his best friend. They used to enjoy the way they passed time in homeroom together, by speaking of a casual subject, talking about how each other's weekends were, watching Haruka draw a new design of the Iwatobi mascot or even gushing over how Makoto's two younger siblings, Ran and Ren, adore him so much. Then from there, things could get livelier as soon as Nagisa burst in with Rei and went on about something that was exciting him.

When the bell rings at the end of the school day, Makoto spots Haru walking across the street, getting further away from the school (and him) until he shouts out his name and manages to catch up to Haruka when he turns and stops.

"Ha..Ha...Haru," Makoto pants, crouched over. Running has never been his best sport, and now he suddenly has a lot more respect and admiration for their newest recruit and butterfly swimmer who was previously on the track team.

"Makoto..." Haru says, wondering why he's suddenly here.

"Ha...Have you...got a moment?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Nothing really." Makoto says as he rises to stand up properly, a few inches higher than Haruka, and now in full control of his breathing routine. "I just wanted to see how Haru-chan is doing." He's not trying to sound like a concerned mother but he has a right to check up on him considering they haven't spoken much as of late.

"Oh..." _'Is that all?'_ Haruka thinks in surprise. "I'm okay, thanks."

"That's good. And, erm...Kouta?"

"She's fine. Why?"

"A-ah! I just...uh," Makoto scratches the back of his head as he looks for a good excuse. He's not particularly interested about Kouta, especially not after the way she mistreated Rei. But Haruka wouldn't get that and in the process might think him to be unreasonable. And worse, inconsiderate of his feelings. "Well, we kind of upset her earlier and we feel bad about it."

"Don't worry, she's calmed down already."

"Oh..." Makoto nods along to show that he understands. But he feels sour inside because Kouta's the last person who should get to be upset, especially when him seeing less of Haruka is because she's seeing more of him. But maybe something can be done about that, Makoto hopes as he offers, "Say Haru, we're all going to town soon and I wanted to know what time I should wait for you at the steps. Whenever you're ready we can go there together."

As usual, because that's how it's always been.

They've always been together.

Haruka looks away for a moment, feeling guilty. "I can't, I'm doing something with Kouta."

_Oh._ "I-I see."

But he doesn't. Makoto really doesn't see at all.

"Maybe next time then?" Makoto asks, a hopeful smile spreading across on his face.

"Yeah, next time." Haruka says. And he sounds genuine, like he's just made a promise to a good friend, which makes it all the more important. Haruka leaves first and says bye before he continues in the direction he was going. Usually he and Makoto walk home together, but because he's not a part of his evening plans like Makoto first assumed he would be, it can't be helped that he's going alone.

Makoto trusts Haruka and knows that he doesn't feed him excuses just to keep him sweet. When he says next time, he usually keeps to his word. So then...Why does next time feel so far away? So far that it can't be seen.

Ha, again with seeing things.

What is there to see? The back of Haruka as he walks away for a countless time? Makoto knows how jealous he sounds but that's not entirely it. He's happy for Haruka, he really is. It's great that he's dating someone, that any of them appeal to someone of the opposite gender even when they're rarely out of the water and mixing with people. But at the expense of not being able to hang out with him as much as he did before? Makoto doesn't want to be a bad friend but he can't be happy about that. He can't help the way he feels...

Unless Haruka can be with him then there's nothing worth seeing at all.


End file.
